BEIJING, China

A row over pesticide-laced Chinese dumplings has moved a step closer to a settlement after China told Japan that a factory worker was probably to blame. Ten Japanese became sick after eating pesticide-contaminated dumplings which had been imported from China, stirring intense media coverage earlier this year. Japan and China have long been at odds over where the dumplings were contaminated, with both denying sabotage in their home countries.

TOKYO, Japan ------pix: TOKYO - Crown Prince Naruhito.jpg

Police have arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of posting a hoax message on an Internet message board threatening to kill Crown Prince Naruhito, news reports said. Takeshi Yamamoto, an unemployed man in Gifu, central Japan, is charged with disturbing the work of police after imperial guards boosted security at the crown prince's residence in light of the apparent threat. The man allegedly put the message on an Internet message board on August 13, reportedly under the name Masako, wife of the crown prince, saying: 'I will kill the crown prince.'

TAIPEI, Taiwan ------pix: TAIPEI - President Chen Shui-bian.jpg

Prosecutors believe the family of former President Chen Shui-bian, under investigation for alleged misuse of state funds, has moved money to 10 other countries or regions. The former first family is suspected of sending at least T$1 billion (C$44.9 million) to Japan, the United States, the Cayman Islands, Singapore and Switzerland, among other places, Taiwan newspapers said, citing the Supreme Court prosecutor's office. Chen, in office from 2000 to May 2008, denies any wrongdoing.

JAKARTA, Indonesia -----pix: JAKARTA - Tommy Suharto.jpg

Indonesia has seized US$134 million from a firm linked to Suharto's youngest son, Tommy Suharto, in thelatest move to bring the ex-dictator's family to account for alleged graft. Tommy, who was reputedly the favourite of the late Suharto, enjoyed favoured access to business deals during the heady years of crony capitalism before the financial crisis and his father's 1998 fall. One of six children, he also served less than a third of a 15-year jail term for ordering the murder of a Supreme Court judge in July 2002. He was released in October 2006.

HONG KONG

A primary school teacher faces jail after being convicted of having sex with a ten-year-old girl from his class. Chew Hing-cheung, 53, took the girl to "love hotels" where rooms are rented by the hour on three occasions and had sex with her. He was arrested in January on his third visit to a love hotel with the girl when police carried out a routine operation at the premises.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia

A condom lubricant designed for sex workers and gay men has become a popular acne cure among female Cambodians, women in the capital. Number One Plus, a water-based lubricant produced by health organisation Population Services International (PSI), is an excellent cure for acne, 29-year-old vendor Tep Kemyoeurn said. "After I used it for three days, all of my acne dried up and went away," she said. PSI were not immediately available for comment on the apparent cosmetic benefits of their product.

DHAKA, Bangladesh ----pix: two-head-baby.jpg

A baby boy born with two heads in southwestern Bangladesh died after his parents decided to take him home because they could not afford adequate medical care. The boy, named Kiron, was born this month by Cesarean section and died at home late after developing a fever and breathing difficulties Kiron had attracted such attention that 150 000 people gathered at the clinic where he was cared for after his birth in Keshobpur, 135 kilometres (85 miles) from the capital Dhaka.

SHANGHAI, China ----pix: SHANGHAI - pedestrians.jpg

Shanghai jaywalkers face public humiliation as police plan to start broadcasting images of their offences on television to shame them into respecting traffic rules. Traffic congestion is said to be caused mainly by traffic violations by pedestrians, cyclists and mopeds, but jaywalking in China is sometimes a necessity as oncoming cars refuse to give way on legal or illegal crossings. Traffic police recorded 7.78 million violations at intersections in Shanghai in the first eight months of the year.

RANGOON, Burma -----pix: RANGOON - Suu Kyi.jpg

Burma's ruling junta has denied that detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi had gone on hunger strike, but rumours persisted after she apparently refused to receive food deliveries. Exiled dissidents in India and Thailand reported that the Nobel Peace Prize winner has last accepted fresh food supplies on August 15. Aung San Suu Kyi has spent most of the past 19 years confined to her lakeside Yangon home.Her latest detention began more than five years ago, and she has been allowed little contact with the outside world.

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea

Australian hikers have found the suspected remains of a World War II airman hanging from a tree in dense forest in Papua New Guinea. The moss-covered body appeared to be wearing a harness and goggles. The discovery was made along the Kokoda Trail, in the east of the country, which was an important battleground during the war. Some 600 Australian soldiers died in fighting around the Kokoda trail in World War II - seen by the Allies as a key point at which to halt the advance of the Japanese military.

ORISSA, India

Thousands of Catholic schools are shut across India in protest against continuing anti-Christian violence in the eastern state of Orissa. Eleven people have died after a Hindu leader was killed in the state's Kandhamal district. Authorities said Maoist rebels were behind the killing, but some Hindu groups have accused Christians. Over 3000 police have been deployed but attacks on churches continue. Hundreds of Christians have fled their homes. The Pope has condemned the violence.